


The Hundred Year Guests

by gernumblie (badatmakingusernames)



Category: Original Work
Genre: Aggressively Christian lady, Camp Nanowrimo, Canon Non-Binary Character, Children, Fairies, Friendship, Gen, Gothic, Magic, Slice of Life, Unbeta'd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-13
Updated: 2017-08-13
Packaged: 2018-12-14 19:02:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11789451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badatmakingusernames/pseuds/gernumblie
Summary: They say many generations ago the fae visited the mansion up the hill, and they haven't left since. The people of the the little sleepy village didn't forget, and paid a fee to protect themselves from fae magic ever since.





	The Hundred Year Guests

Joseph Whitaker was a man of discovery. He was twenty-five, and had already seen more coasts and continents than most people twice his age. Four years of being a sailor had certainly been amazing, but it wasn’t quite the path for him. Being dirt poor was not one’s ideal image of his life, and piracy is too dangerous to enjoy any wealth. Besides, when it came to his own country, he had barely seen much beyond his hometown and the winding road to the nearest dock.

So he went from town and town looking for odd jobs, like an unspecialized apprentice of old. It was a new kind of adventure, with less swaying too, as long as he managed to avoid getting drunk.

He was pretty far inland now, and as the winter crept in, less people had less work. Farms had nothing to spare, beds and food- food especially- and the people of the little local villages rarely had tasks that they hired out. It was getting harder to shrug it off now, the third day since he’d been with a job. His pockets were starting to feel lighter already, and he wasn’t a frivolous spender.

He’d heard that there were farms east of some forest that would still be harvesting from a barman repeating some rumors. It seemed dodgy, but better than nothing. So the first chance he got, he started off.

When he got to the fork in the road, the barman’s advice came to mind. The man must have been paranoid, these woods didn’t look quite big enough to house anything that dangerous. It would save time. They might have finished the harvest if he took the long way. That last thought gave him the resolve to hurry forward into this forest.

Something wasn’t quite right here, but perhaps this was the barman’s fear spilling over onto his own mind. It certainly didn’t seem like the woods not too far from his house in his hometown, but not every forest in jolly ol’ England could be the same, right? But it wasn’t the branches that looked like reaching arms, or the bark covered in ash that gave him the unease. It was the silence. Nothing lived here. No one could be foolish enough to hunt in these woods, they were so obviously over-hunted; Joseph felt a pang of secondhand guilt. 

He didn’t know how it happened, as he’d always had an excellent sense of direction, but he found himself lost and confused. Where was north? If he could find north, he could find east, but so far nothing felt right. He looked around in all directions, twice to be sure, another just in case. If anything that made it worse. Now he couldn’t see which way he came through. This was bad.

He didn’t know how fast time passed, but that didn’t matter as much, because he was still lost beyond measure. Wait, didn’t he have a compass in his pack? He groaned, throwing his head up to gaze at the clouds. Oh it better not rain, he thought as he rummaged around in his bag.

“Excuse me?” Despite it being an older woman’s voice, Joseph still found himself jumping involuntarily. “Oh, my apologies dear! I seem to have gotten lost and I was wondering if you had any idea how to get out of these cursed trees!” Now he got a good look at her. She was staring at him, her head cocked ever so slightly, and the expression on her face indicated that she wasn’t admiring him from afar.

“My apologies as well, Ma’am. I didn’t expect anyone to be on the road anymore. I’ve gotten lost myself, but I believe I have a compass in here somewhere.” He rummaged around a moment longer before finding his quarry. He pulled it out with a mighty ‘AHA!’ that would mirror a mighty hunter, but when he finally got a good look at the thing, its arrow spun around like it was the most beautiful belle of the ball. “It’s broken?” He muttered, before sheepishly looking up to the woman. “My name is Joseph Whitaker, and it appears we might be in trouble, Miss-?”

“My name is  _ Mrs.  _ Gail Howard.” She replied, lifting a suitcase taking a step forward with a slightly forced smile. So she wasn’t as upset with him as her tone indicated. Her smile also confused him, but he pushed that thought away for later. Odd company was better than no company at all.

“Where are you headed to Mrs. Howard?” He asked as he straightened. “Might as well make conversation as we adventure through this labyrinth. If only we had a golden thread.” He said with a laugh.  She laughed in kind, surprising him as she walked forward to be by his side, allowing him the ability to appraise her better.

She was stooped, like an older housewife would be, and the beginnings of wrinkles only helped to confirm his theory. Her gray and mousy brown hair was pulled back in a strict bun. Her clothes- a long sleeved white shirt that went from the top of her neck only to be tucked into her skirt that was either dark gray or dark blue- also gave an impression of a spartan woman.

“You know of mythology? Pardon me for saying this, but you do not look the educated type.” She said with a wry smile.

“I was educated, I’ve only been trying to forget it for the past few years.”

“Doing what?”

“Sailing, mostly.”

“God has certainly protected you then.” She says with a smile. He nodded, an odd smile growing on his face. 

“That he has, Ma’am, that he has.” He replied quickly. “Though a few storms in had me wondering if I’d turned into Jonah.”

“Ah, so you are a man of the faith as well?”

“Yes, uh, I guess so. I never really thought about it?” He said with a simple shrug, hoping that it wouldn’t insult her in the slightest. If anything, she seemed emboldened by his saying that. For the next however-long-it-was, she started preaching to him about  _ the _ good book, and whatever else she could preach about. Doing  _ this  _ was good. Doing  _ that  _ is very bad. He tried his very best to listen to her, he truly did; however, when there was an opportunity for him to change the conversation with a quiet lull, he took it without hesitation.

“Why are you out in woods like this, Mrs. Howard?”

“I went out for a stroll.”

“With a suitcase?” He asked, though he immediately regretted it. She huffed.

“My husband died.” His mind screamed, he could have sworn that he’d actually whimpered. “I couldn’t bare to stay in that house a moment longer. My sons meant well, but I couldn’t take it much longer.” Her melancholy features quickly turned into mirth with an odd giggle. “They must think I’ve gone mad. Running away like a little girl.” Joseph let out a laugh too.

“I can’t imagine they’re too happy with you.”

“No, they wouldn’t be. But I’ve never been one to sit around and do nothing.”

“So what did you do instead?” He asked when she didn’t continue speaking.

“I have been a tutor mostly, I became a private teacher a few years back.”

“A teacher. Amazing. You couldn’t have picked a better time.”

“The moment I heard that the government would be making public schools I dragged my husband out to find a place that could train me.” 

“Gave ‘em hell?” He asked with a wry smile. She only answered with a wry smile, and they both laughed again.

At that very moment, the path opened up to a big clearing filled with stone houses underneath a cloudy gray sky. As rain began to pour from the heavens, the pair hurried over to a building, which happened to be a tavern.

The inside was warm and dry. The wood interior seemed much newer than the stone walls that shielded them from the inside. There’s a man behind the bar, and there are a few patrons scattered around at wooden chairs with small wooden tables. Joseph and his new companion sat at the few chairs by the fireplace leaning forward to hopefully dry their already soaking clothes. After a moment, another patron got up and sat in the chair opposite them.

“You two lost?” He asked in a low and only slightly sober voice. Gail is surprised by his actions and flinched back slightly.

“Perhaps.” Joseph answered for the both of them. “What’s it to you?” The man gave a wolfish grin. His teeth were yellowing.

“I’m a guide and cartographer. I’ve mapped just about the entire known world.”

“When did you last leave this village? You don’t look like any cartographer I’ve ever seen.” His grin turns devilish.

“I haven’t left in twenty years. ‘Aven’t needed to. They give me dreams.” He explained. The pair nodded rather slowly, hoping it would seem like they were agreeing with him. Then the door opened.

A woman walked in wearing a dress that looked about forty years old, and made Joseph realize that everyone else looked the exact same. He felt an odd prickle at the back of his neck. The strange lady was beautiful though. Her hair was the perfect gold color and pulled up in a hairstyle his grandmother wore- and the woman in front of him definitely wore it better. He mustered up some courage before standing up, not noticing whether or not anyone else cared.

He sauntered up to the bar a respectable distance from her and flashed her what ought to be a winning smile.

“Who are you?”

“I’m just passing through.” He told her. “No one of consequence.”

“So you thought you’d flirt with a local heiress?” She asked disbelievingly.

“I have my own money, thanks.” He said, shrugging and going to return to his seat.

“You never said your name.” She called after him in her pretty voice. He smiled and turned around to speak to her again.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my camp nanowrimo project, and I decided to post it here to practice regular posting- hopefully once a week. Enjoy!


End file.
